Despite more than 150 time slots designated for passport and national ID card appointments, be advised that there is over a month’s wait for obtaining a rendezvous. We ask you kindly to please take this into consideration when applying for identity or travel documents.

We would be grateful if you cancelled your appointment if you cannot attend it, so that your time slot could open up for another person.. The Consulate General is doing its best in diminishing these delays.

For more information and to obtain an ID card appointment, click here.

ATTENTION : Please make sure you have all the necessary documents prior to your appointment.

1. Biometric passport

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A passport is a travel document which allows the owner to justify his/her identity – up to two years after its expiration – and his/her French nationality. The applicant must be a French citizen. The passport is valid for 10 years for adults, and 5 years for minors.

A passport is henceforth an individual document. Minor children can thus no longer be mentioned on their parents’ passports, and must have their own individual passport.

If an applicant resides in the Consulate’s jurisdiction, and is not registered on the List of French nationals living abroad, he or she will be automatically added to the List, in compliance with the regulations.

Applications for biometric passports are submitted at the Consulate General of France in New York. They are, however, issued in France. This means the procedure entails a week’s delay between the submission of the request and obtaining the passport.

2. A double personal appearance

2.1 Submitting a request for passport:

Each applicant must come to the Consulate General of France in New York in person [1], upon a pre-scheduled appointment, in order to submit his/her request for passport.

A digital fingerprints record is taken during the appointment.

2.2 Receiving the passport

Passports are distributed to people who present themselves in person [2] :

either at the Consulate General of France in New York ;

or during a consular visit;

or in front of an honorary consul. In this case only, an “express mail” envelope with a “tracking number” must be provided by the applicant.

This secure measure of treating requests for passports requires two appearances in person, at least one of which takes place at the Consulate.

3. Schedule a rendezvous

In order to improve public reception and reduce waiting times at the Consulate, an appointment scheduling system was implemented on March 15, 2010, for passport requests.

The territorial authority relevant to passport issuance was abolished on June 28, 2009. This means that a passport application may be submitted at any consulate or town hall, even if the applicant does not reside at this authority’s jurisdiction. Please note, however, that the passport will only be delivered – in person – by that authority. You should thus submit your passport request in France only if you can stay in country long enough for it to be issued by the French Government Official Printing Works (l’Imprimerie nationale). The passport must then be withdrawn at the same town hall the request was made at.

In addition to his/her identity and citizenship justifications, as well as a civil status certificate, the applicant must also provide proof of residence abroad, so that the current address could appear on the passport.

It is highly advised to inquire the specific municipality of its delays for passport issuance and delivery, prior to submitting the application.

5. Required documents

In order to simplify administrative procedures, justification of (a) identity, (b) civil status and (c) citizenship mentioned below are no longer necessary if the applicant provides one of the following:

an old biometric or digital passport; ;

or a secure national ID card (plasticized);

In this case, no justification of French nationality or civil status is required. Only documents in sections (d), (e) and (f) must be provided.

(a) (a) Justification of identity:

for a passport renewal, please provide the previous passport;

for a first request, an ID card or any other official document which bears a photograph.

(b) Justification of civil status:

the applicant’s birth certificate, with filiations;

or, if it is missing, a full copy of the applicant’s birth certificate;● for birth in France or in a French overseas department or territory: you should contact the municipality you were born at (some municipalities accept online requests: go to www.acte-naissance.fr for more information and for the list of such municipalities);● for birth abroad (birth certificate issued by a French embassy or consulate, or reconstituted by the Civil Registry Central Services in Nantes): contact the Civil Status Central Service directly; (c ) Justification of citizenship: if the applicant was born in France and at least one of his/her parents was born in France, the civil status justification provided (in section (b)) will be sufficient;

or a full copy of the birth certificate, mentioning the person is of French nationality;

or a declaration of acquisition and registry of the French citizenship;

or a naturalization or reintegration certificate to French nationality (a duplicate copy, an Official Journal edition, or an official document from the Ministry in charge of naturalizations);

or a judgment ruling which certifies the person belongs to the French nationality;

or a certificate of French citizenship.

(d) Proof of address (persons who already appear on the International Register of French nationals living abroad are exempt of showing this proof, unless their address has changed):

proof of property ownership, or rent lease;

or a rent slip, electricity bill or gas bill;

or proof of house insurance;

or, for students who live in student dorms, an official, stamped letter mentioning they reside in the United States.

or a resident permit or an ID delivered by the American authorities mentioning a residency in the United States..

(f) In case of loss or theft of the old passport, a declaration of loss or theft.

(g) In case of passport delivery by an Honorary Consul:

a prepaid “express mail” or “registered mail” envelope. The passport will be sent in this envelope to the Honorary Consul closest to your home address. The Honorary Consul will be responsible for the delivery of your passport.

6. Official Requirements for Identity Photographs

The following recommendations will help you provide acceptable photographs, and prevent you from having to resubmit photos, which would delay your application.

FORMAT :

Photos must be 3,5 cm X 4,5 cm (1,4" X 1,9"), and color only.

The portrait should only show the top of the shoulders (or the base of the neck).

The size of the face must be between 32 mm and 36 mm or fill 70% to 80% of the picture.

The face must appear in the center of the picture.

The photo must be no older than six months and give a perfect representation of the applicant’s appearance on the days the application is submitted and the passport is picked up.

The brightness and contrast must reveal the natural skin-tone. No flash glare should be visible on all or part of the face, and there should be no red eyes.

The expression of the face must be neutral, with a closed mouth, and no hair across the eyes.

The face can only be facing front. The two sides of the face must be clearly visible.

Stylized postures (looking over the shoulder, tilted head etc.) are prohibited.

The head must be bare, without any headgear or scarf, head band or other decorative accessories. No exception will be made to this rule.

If you wear glasses, you do not need to wear them on the photographs. However if you do, your eyes must be clearly visible ; no dark lenses, no flash glare on the lenses, the frame must not hide part of your eyes and lighter frames are preferable.

7. Minor children

In addition to the documents mentioned above, a request for passport entails an authorization of a legal representative. In order to justify the legitimacy of the minor’s representative, please provide the following:

for married parents or concubines:

● minor’s birth certificate bearing the name and surname of the parents (the certificate provided in section (b) may suffice);● or a copy of the family record book (livret de famille);● or a joint declaration.

for separated parents:● a copy of the legal judgment concerning legal parental guardianship;● or a proof of separation, bearing the conditions of parental guardianship.

for a third party who has guardianship over the minor:

● a copy of the justice decision for loss of parenthood;● or of the decision authorizing the delegation of parental guardianship.

for minors under custody:● a copy of the family council’s decision;● or of the judge’s designation of custody. If there is a disagreement among the parents, only a written contestation by one of them would stop the request.

8. Emergency cases – passport loss or theft

In case of loss or theft, and depending on the situation, the Consulate may either deliver a Laissez-passer allowing you to reenter France, or provide an emergency passport valid for one year.

In both cases, you must come to the Consulate and present the following documents:

proof of identity and French citizenship, or references of the lost/stolen passport

an ID/passport photo

plane ticket or reservation

US Police report, in case of theft.

To obtain a laissez-passer, the testimony of a French citizen who knows the applicant well may free the applicant of the need to provide identity and nationality justifications.

In case of an emergency passport, several days must be taken into account.

9. Payment rates for passports and laissez-passers

Please visite the fees and methods of payment section in our FAQPassport renewals due to a full passport (no more room on its pages) do not entail chancery fees, but the validity remains that of the initial traveling title delivered.

10. Passports and entry conditions to the United States

If you already have a passport which could be read by a machine, you may still have to replace it with a biometric passport even if you are going to the United-States for less than 90 days on business or travel:

-If your passport was issued after October 26, 2005, and you live in France or a in third country, and wish to travel to the United States using the “visa waiver” program (i.e. without a visa), then you must replace your current passport.

-If you already live in the United-States and thus already possess a visa or a green card, there is no need to change your passport.

In as such, as of July 1st, 2009, if you have an emergency passport (which does not have an electronic chip, i.e. it is not an electronic passport), you must ask for a visa before you enter the United-States.

Type of passport

Issue date

Requirements for entry to the U.S

"Delphine" readable Passport

before or on 10/25/2005

no need for visa but an electronic stay authorization is required (ESTA)